The Myth of Bus Rapid Transit
 No
matter what color you paint a bus, it still gets stuck in traffic. Over
15 years ago, after tearing down the elevated Orange Line service to
Dudley Square, the MBTA promised equal or better service. For
over 15 years, that service was a dirty diesel bus that contributed to
residents' suffering asthma rates six times higher than the state
average.
Meanwhile, the state is in a fiscal crisis, and the MBTA plans to
build an elaborate tunnel system underneath downtown Boston so buses can
turn around. Otherwise known as the "Silver Line Phase III "the plan
will cost millions more than using existing tunnels and restoring light
rail service on Washington Street. Even MBTA studies showed using the
existing tunnel for Green Line-type service is only a matter of new
lights and tracks, a substantial savings.
What's so wrong with the Silver Line?
- A rail tunnel already exists that can serve Washington
Street and the Roxbury community.
- Light rail will cost hundreds of millions of dollars less
to implement than a new bus system.
- A new bus tunnel will require tearing up the newly refurbished
YMCA, large swaths of Chinatown, the Theater District, and the Boston
Common. In times of fiscal crisis, the Governor should look at
ways to do more for less.
Since the MBTA already stated that rail service would increase
ridership by 2 to 2.5 times that of a bus and cost $800 million less, he
should make the switch to light rail.
DID YOU KNOW.... Light rail on Washington Street will cost
hundreds of millions of dollars less to implement than completing the
new bus system.
Please write to
Governor Deval Patrick and
Transportation Secretary Jeffrey Mullan and request that they cancel
the costly Silver Line Phase III and instead call for replacement with
light rail service that was promised over 15 years ago.
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